Men's Basketball

Bears Battle Hawks In Hartford

Dec 01, 2010

Providence, Rhode Island - Brown's men's basketball team returns to the hardwood Thursday evening, December 1, traveling to Hartford, Connecticut to face the Hartford Hawks, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Chase Family Arena. Follow all the action on WPRV-AM 790, with Scott Cordischi calling the play and Russ Tyler '71 providing the color commentary. You can also listen to Scott and Russ' call live on brownbears.com, or watch the game on CTSN.

Brown's Record: Brown fell to 3-2 on the season after a last-second, 70-66, loss to New Hampshire on Saturday. Brown tied the game with eight seconds remaining on two free throws by Tucker Halpern '13. New Hampshire went the length of the court and scored on a lay-up with just two seconds remaining. Peter Sullivan '11 led the Bears with 20 points.

The Hawks: Hartford (1-5) is coming off an 81-76 loss at Yale on Tuesday. Hartford's win came over St. Francis (PA), 60-55, with losses to Central Connecticut (64-62), Quinnipiac (66-64), Dartmouth (71-57) and Fordham (61-57).

Road Trip: Thursday's game against Hartford will be the second of four straight road games for the Bears. Brown will also travel to Maine (12/4) and Providence (12/6) before breaking for final exams. Coach Jesse Agel's team returns to the hardwood at home on December 21 against Army.

The Brown-Hartford Series Record: Brown and Hartford have met eight times, dating back to 1989-1990, with Bears holding a 6-2 series advantage. Brown has won the last five meetings, including a 72-62 victory on December 9, 2008 in Providence. Hartford's last win over the Bears came on January 4, 2004, when the Hawks earned a 70-63 decision.

Peter Sullivan 18th In All-Time Brown Scoring: Senior All-Ivy forward Peter Sullivan (Wilmette, IL) scored 20 points against New Hampshire and moved into 18th place on Brown's all-time scoring list with 1,112 career points, moving past Mark McAndrew, who scored 1,100 points for the Bears from 2004-2008. Sullivan also had a career high four steals, and a team high eight rebounds against the Wildcats. He came through in a big way against Sacred Heart, scoring 26 points on 6 of 8 shooting from the field, handing out five assists and grabbing a game high eight rebounds. Sullivan currently leads the Bears in scoring (15.6 ppg.) and rebounding (6.2 rpg). Sullivan opened the season by scoring 17 points in Brown's win over Fordham, and handed out a career high five assists against Rhode Island. He is the fourth player in Brown basketball history to score 1,000 or more points prior to his senior year. He joins Earl Hunt '03 (2,041), Arnie Berman '72 (1,668) and Jason Forte '05 (1,597) as the only Brown players to have reached the 1,000-point milestone as juniors. He now has 1,062 career points, 20th best in Brown basketball history. He was the only Brown player to start all 31 games last season, setting a new Brown record for games started in a season, while averaging 12.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Sullivan scored 20 or more points six times last season, including a career high 28 points against Holy Cross, connecting on 12 of 12 free throws against the Crusaders. He also registered double-doubles against Dartmouth (23 points, 11 rebounds) and American (19 points, 11 rebounds).

Leffelman One Of Ivy League's Top Marksmen: Senior guard Garrett Leffelman (Naperville, IL), Brown's third leading scorer with 10.2 points per game, scored 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting, in Brown's win over St. Francis, and added 12 points against New Hampshire. He scored eight points and grabbed a team high seven rebounds in Brown's season-opening win over Fordham, and came back with 11 points against Rhode Island. He came on strong at the end of the 2009-2010 season, starting Brown's last 11 games, and scoring in double figures in seven of those games. He was the Ivy League's second leading marksman, shooting 55-percent from the field, while averaging 12.0 points per game in league contests. He registered a career scoring high on four consecutive weekends late in the season, including a career high 20 points in Brown's last game of the year against Columbia.

Halpern Helps Brown Offense Run: Sophomore forward Tucker Halpern (Brookline, MA) led the Bears with 15 points against St. Francis (NY), and came back with 15 points and five rebounds against UNH. His 12.8 points per game ranks second on the Brown team. He scored 14 points in Brown's win over Sacred Heart, hitting 5 of 10 field goals. He tossed in 10 points and pulled down four rebounds against URI. Halpern finished the Fordham game with 10 second-half points, while handing out a career best six assists. Halpern started 10 of 29 games last year, and was Brown's third leading scorer with 8.1 points per game, while pulling down 3.5 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures nine times, and exploded for a career high 26 points against Quinnipiac where he connected on 6-of-13 treys. A two-time Ivy League Rookie of the Week, Halpern's 23 steals led the Bears, while he handed out 66 assists, second on the Brown team. His six treys vs. Quinnipiac rank eighth in the Brown record book for a single game.

McGonagill Third In Ivy Assists: Freshman point guard Sean McGonagill (Brookfield, IL) ranks third in the Ivy League with 5.0 assists per game, including a season high eight assists against Sacred Heart. He played a big role in Brown's win over St. Francis with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. McGonagill is averaging 9.4 points per game, and is Brown's second leading rebounder with 4.0 per game. He was named the Ivy Rookie of the Week for his performance against URI and Sacred Heart. He scored a team high 11 points, handed four assists and grabbed five rebounds against URI, and then scored 9 points, handed out a career high eight assists against Sacred Heart. He's shooting 56-percent from the field, including 54-percent from behind three-point range. He was impressive in his collegiate debut against Fordham, scoring nine points, handing out six assists, pulling down five rebounds, with no turnovers in 33 minutes of play in a starting role. He also connected on 3 of 5 treys against the Rams.

McCarthy Provides Inside Presence: Sophomore forward Andrew McCarthy's (Sudbury, MA) provided an inside presence for the Bears, pulling down a team high seven rebounds, scoring eight points and blocking two shots against St. Francis. He was solid against Fordham, scoring 11 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the field, while pulling down four rebounds. He added eight points against Rhode Island. His 6.7 points per game were fifth on last year's squad, while his 4.7 rebounds a game ranked second. He blocked 33 shots, seventh best in Brown basketball history and the most ever for a first year player. McCarthy, who started 16 of 31 games, was twice named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week. He scored in double figures eight times, including a career high 18 points against Siena, and grabbed double figure rebounds twice, pulling down a career best 12 rebounds against Army.

Team Captains: Brown head basketball coach Jesse Agel has named seniors Peter Sullivan and Adrian Williams co-captains of this year's team.

Williams 10th In All-Time Treys: Senior guard Adrian Williams (Atlanta, GA) moved into 10th place in all-time three-point field goals at Brown, now with 126 career treys. He came off the bench once again to provide some much needed offense in Brown's win over Sacred Heart, scoring 12 points on 4 of 7 shooting from behind the three-point arc. His stats line against St. Francis was consistent, with two of two shooting from behind the three-point arc, and two of two shooting from the free throw line, in scoring eight points. He provided the same lift against Fordham, hitting 3-of-4 field goals, including 2 of 3 from behind the three-point arc. WIlliams played in all 31 games a year ago and tossed-in a season high 17 points against Kean, hitting 5 of 7 treys. He also connected on 5-of-7 treys in scoring 15 points against Dartmouth. His 42 treys led last year's team after hitting a team high 58 treys two years ago. Williams averaged 11.0 points per game as a sophomore.

Matt Sullivan Returns To Natural Position: Sophomore guard Matt Sullivan (Wilmette, IL), who tossed in six points against URI, and five points vs. St. Francis, had a major impact as a first-year player last season, starting 29 of 31 games. A natural two-guard for the Bears, he transitioned into Brown's starting point guard a year ago. He will return to the shooting-guard position this year. He scored in double figures six times, netting a season high 12 points against Providence and Bryant. Named the Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his play against Siena and Bryant, Sullivan's 65 assists ranked third on the Brown team, handing out a career best seven assists against Philadelphia Sciences. He was also an 80-percent free throw shooter (37 of 46) for the Bears.

Head Coach Jesse Agel: Bears' head Coach Jesse Agel begins his third season at the helm of the Bears' basketball program with a goal of building the basketball program into an annual contender for the Ivy League Championship. Before taking over the reins of the program, the 48-year-old Agel (pronounced A-gull) was an assistant at Brown for two years, helping the Bears register a school-record 19 victories in 2007-2008, while gaining a berth in the post-season College Basketball Invitational. During his 17-year stint at Vermont, Agel was the architect of the Catamount's recent success on the basketball court. A 1984 graduate of Vermont, Agel was the associate head coach at Vermont for eight years under head coach Tom Brennan.

Brothers: Last year, brothers Peter '11 and Matt '13 Sullivan were the first brother duo to start together at Brown since Don '65 and Dave '66 Tarr lettered together for two years, in 1964 and 1965, respectively.

Long Wait Ends For Ponticelli: When sophomore forward Tyler Ponticelli (Northbrook, IL) arrived at Brown in the fall of 2009, he never imagined that we would be unable to play for the entire season due to injury. He made the most of his first collegiate opportunity against Fordham by scoring four points, on 2 of 2 shooting from the field, grabbing three offensive rebounds, and blocking a shot in 16 minutes of play. Ponticelli scored a career-high nine points against Sacred Heart, connecting on 2 of 2 field goals and 5 of 6 free throws. He pulled down four rebounds against Rhode Island, and a career best five rebounds against New Hampshire.

Brown Basketball Interactive Magazine: Brown Athletics launched a bold initiative to present its athletic teams in a modern, interactive mode with the release of the Men's Basketball Interactive Magazine, which is available for view on Brownbears.com. The Brown basketball interactive magazine can be viewed by going to the men's basketball team page on brownbears.com, and clicking on the Interactive Magazine link under Team Information. Here's link to the basketball magazine: http://www.pursuantmedia.com/brownathletics/basketball/men/1110/default.asp

Bear Facts: Senior forward Chris Taylor (Plymouth, MN) played in 29 games, a year ago, earning five starts, and brings a wealth of experience to the Bears frontcourt. He pulled down a career high seven rebounds against Providence…Freshman Dockery Walker (Dover, DE), who netted two points and grabbed four rebounds against Rhode Island, comes to Brown from Westtown (PA) High School, where he scored 11 points and grabbed 9.0 rebounds as a senior...Freshman guard/forward Josh Biber (Lorain, OH) saw his first playing time against Rhode Island. He played at IMG Academy last year, and averaged 19.2 points and 10.5 rebounds per game as a senior at Southview High School… Sophomore guard Stephen Albrecht (Crown Point, IN), a transfer from Toledo, averaged 11.2 points per game for the Rockets and scored 20 points vs. Michigan State and Cornell. Albrecht will sit out the 2010-11 season and will be eligible in 2011-2012.

Bears On The Air: Brown's entire schedule is being broadcast on WPRV-AM 790 with Scott Cordischi, the host of the popular Scott Cordischi on Sports, calling all the action. Former Brown basketball star Russ Tyler '71 (1,133 career points) provides the color analysis.

Next Game: Brown continues its four game road stand by traveling to Orono, Maine, to face the Maine Black Bears on Saturday, December 4. Game time is 2:00 p.m. at the Alfond Arena.